j i g s a w
by Waffles Of Doom
Summary: Life, as Luna understood it, was rather like a jigsaw. Every person you would meet, and every thing you would experience would allow you to gain another piece of your puzzle.


**jigsaw.**

Life, as Luna understood it, was rather like a jigsaw. You started out as a baby, with a few pieces of your puzzle; a mother, a father, a brother or sister if you were lucky.

Those were the pieces that started to form the outside of the puzzle, the part that kept everything else together _(because, quite obviously, starting a puzzle from the outside in is the easiest way to do it.)_

You never wanted to loose one of those pieces, or perhaps break it. That would mean your puzzle would be thrown out of sync, out of wack, whatever phrase you wanted to use. There would be a space created, where you know a piece of your puzzle should be.

That was how it felt when Luna's mother died, at least. When it happened, it felt as though someone had torn one of those stable, and required pieces of her jigsaw away from her (_along with a large chunk of her heart) _and thrown it to the wind without a backward glance.

Now, Luna knew one day she would see her mother again, and she knew that her mother would always have a presence within her, but the piece of the jigsaw that belonged to her mother, that necessary piece, was gone.

You seemed to gain more pieces of your jigsaw as you learned more; learned about the world, and about things you shouldn't do.

For example, Luna learned the hard way that sometimes, shoes were very much needed attire, after she had gone for a walk _(no, an expedition) _with her father, looking for Crumple Horned Snorkack's with her father, barefoot, and stood on quite a sharp rock.

It became embedded in her foot, and was very painful. She couldn't walk, and was rather concerned her father would accidentaly splinch her in his worry as they apparated from Northern Germany to St Mungo's.

It was, in Luna's eyes, a valuable piece of her jigsaw.

Luna gained countless puzzle pieces when she went to Hogwarts, firstly (_and perhaps one of the most important) _being that not everyone will accept you for who you are.

She was, from day one, teased and berated for her eccentric ways, by not only Slytherins, but Hufflepuff's, and Griffindor's, and even her fellow Ravenclaw's. At first, Luna couldn't understand their reasoning, but after many weeks of tears, and nights of even more tears, she came to realise she would not be accepted by everyone.

Luna pondered changed, yes, but only for a second. She instead decided to take the lesson that she wouldn't be accepted by everyone, and that there would always be people trying to put her down, and add it to her puzzle _(to the edge, because it was a valuable lesson she could build her life inside.)_

Of course, the education she got at Hogwarts was a vital piece of her puzzle _(but no, she wouldn't consider it part of the framework, she she placed it just inside.)_

Following her valuable lesson in first year, Luna's puzzle pieces seemed to all fit inside the frame, rather than fill up the edges of her jigsaw. None of the pieces seemed to fit on the outside correctly, and Luna, she wasn't one to force things where they aren't supposed to fit.

In her fourth year, she joined Dumbledore's Army; from the very first day, she concluded that piece of her jigsaw belonged at the edge, for it would play a huge role in following years, and indeed the rest of her life (_though of course, she didn't know it yet.)_

When they went to the Ministry, and fought against the Death Eater's, Luna gained four jigsaw pieces (_no, not one, like you would believe was the case, but four.)_

The first was the fight itself. That allowed Luna to learn of her own personal bravery, and her ability to do magic. That piece, that didn't fit on the outside, but it neatly fit just inside the outer frame of her jigsaw.

The second was the realisation that life, it was horribly unfair _(and not to mention fragile). _She had known this, or at least partly known it her whole life, but with the death of Sirius, who had spent too much of his life in Askaban for something he didn't do, it became a solid truth in her mind.

The third, was that if someone is family, it doesn't mean they actually care for you- she gained that piece as she watched Bellatrix Lestrange kill her cousin, and cackle madly following his death.

The fourth (_and the only piece from that event that made it to the outside frame of her jigsaw) _was the piece of the puzzle that held her new belief that friendship, is, one of the most important things in the world, and that you do in fact need people in your life to get by, that you can't go it alone as Luna always assumed you could.

In her fifth year, when Harry asked her to Slughorn's party, Luna gained a small, but nonetheless important puzzle piece- that making people laugh, it's a nice feeling, and she'd rather like to do more of it.

When Dumbledore died, she found a puzzle piece full of wisdom that slotted into the edge of her jigsaw- even the greatest of wizards aren't invincible to evil and it's friends.

In the final year _(school year, not normal year) _of the war, Luna discovered that being a child, it doesn't exempt you from experiencing the cruelty of the world, and certain people that occupy it. She learned this during detentions with the Carrow's, and during her time spent at Malfoy Manor.

That puzzle piece, while important, didn't fit in the rapidly filling edge of her jigsaw.

The piece that did fit in the framework however, was the realisation that the bravery of a few can make a difference to many. Being a part of Dumbledore's army, and rebelling against the Carrow's, and Snape's rule of Hogwarts taught her that.

While on the subject of one Severus Snape, his death taught her that things, and people are not always what they seem. That, that was a large and important piece of her puzzle (_something she knew she would encounter again, at least once in her life.)_

Yes, Hogwarts taught her a lot, and gave her many pieces for her jigsaw. Luna, she would be eternally grateful for the school for making her the person she was today. Without Hogwarts, and the staff, and the students, and all the things that went on, her puzzle would be far emptier than it was

The only person that filled out more of her jigsaw than her beloved school, was Neville Longbottom. He too was an outsider, and the first piece of the puzzle that Neville offered her was the comforting fact that there was in fact people who would listen to her, because Neville, he was always willing to listen.

When she discovered the fate _(the terrible fate, actually) _of his parents, he gave Luna a piece of her puzzle for her framework; the fact that people, they are always fighting their own battles. Battles that they perhaps, don't ever share, or hardly share.

Because of that, Luna learned that you should be nice to all you meet, because perhaps your simple act of kindness or your smile would give them the hope they need to continue their day.

Each of Luna's friends had a puzzle piece to themselves, for they all taught her something different. All of their pieces fitted within the framework of her jigsaw, fitting in nicely around all the other pieces she had gained throughout her life.

The piece belonging to her husband, Rolf fitted in the main part of her puzzle _(which was odd, he should have been in the frame work with her two sons.) _

Rolf wasn't in the frame of her jigsaw for a simple enough reason- Neville Longbottom, the boy who had given her many puzzle pieces throughout their lives.

She had never been sure of where Neville fitted within her jigsaw; following the end of the war, and the battle of Hogwarts, he slotted into the place where the love of her life belonged, as they spent many days together, and many years in fact.

When their relationship crumbled, Neville's piece moved from the frame, and back to the middle _(where all her friends belonged.) _Luna had assumed that Rolf would fill the gap Neville left behind, but his place was elsewhere in her jigsaw.

After many years of trying to fit Neville's piece in other places _(places that quickly filled up with other life lessons, with other people) _Luna came to the starling realisation that Neville's puzzle piece would always belong in the place reserved for lover in the jigsaw that represented her life.

It was saddening, in many ways, because they were both married to different people, and therefore could never rekindle their relationship. It also left a sort of in-completion in her life _(despite the fact her jigsaw was complete), _knowing that Neville could never fulfil the role his puzzle piece require of him.

Yes, Luna pondered. Life was like a jigsaw, and sometimes _(just sometimes) _it didn't turn out like the picture on the box.

**FIN.**

**Author's Note; **This would be an idea I had at three in the morning, and that should probably be explanation enough for the seer oddity of this oneshot.

Still, I would love to hear your thoughts on it, so reviews are much appreciated.


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